2011 SPRING TURKEY PERMITS AVAILABLE ONLINE

Regular season April 13-May 31; youth/disabled, archery seasons April 1-12PRATT — The chill of winter clings to the Kansas landscape, but avid outdoorsmen and women are already preparing for spring turkey season, which runs April 1-12 for archery-only and youth/disabled hunters and April 13-May 31 for everyone. The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks makes early preparation easier by offering spring turkey permits online in January.

Turkey permits allow hunters to use a shotgun, crossbow, or bow throughout the April 13-May 31 season. Resident youth permits are valid statewide, including Unit 4, and a turkey permit/game tag combination is available through March 31 at a reduced price. By purchasing the combination early, hunters save $7.50 over the cost of purchasing each separately after March 31.

Turkey permits for units 1, 2, and 3 may be purchased online from the Kansas KDWP website, www.kdwp.state.ks.us, or from license vendors across the state. In addition, hunters may apply online for resident-only, limited-draw permits in Unit 4 (southwest Kansas). A total of 500 permits will be issued for Unit 4. Fifty percent of these permits are reserved for applicants who qualify as landowner/tenants in that unit. Applications for Unit 4 permits must be received online or by phone at 620-672-0728 no later than Feb. 18. There will be no paper applications or mail-in forms. All draw applications must be submitted through the online application process or by phone.

In addition, any individual with a spring turkey permit may purchase one game tag valid only in Units 2 and 3.

Archery hunters, anyone 16 years old or younger, and those with disability permits may hunt April 1-12. (All youth must have an adult supervisor during the youth season.) Hunters younger than 16 are not required to have hunter education certification to hunt while they are supervised by a person 18 or older, but they must have a turkey permit. During the regular season, persons age 12 and older may hunt without adult supervision if they have completed a certified hunter education course. Hunter education certification may not be obtained until age 11, and all hunters younger than 12 must have adult supervision to hunt at any time. Hunters who are 16 must have a valid Kansas hunting license.

Huntable populations of wild turkeys exist in nearly every Kansas county. The Rio Grande subspecies dominates the western two-thirds of the state, and the eastern subspecies is common in the eastern regions. Hybrid Rio Grande/eastern birds may be found where the two ranges converge.